Childhood Stunting in Nigeria: A Comparison of Determinants Among Vulnerable Populations

Background: Stunting affects children worldwide and measures to end this scourge must isolate its determinants among vulnerable groups.Aim: To determine risk factors for stunting among children aged 6 to 59 months in (IDP) settlements and their host communities within the Abuja municipal area council, Nigeria.Methods: The participants were recruited using multistage sampling. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on the socio-demographic details of the participants. Height and length measurements were obtained from each participant. Stunting was defined as height-for-age Z scores compared to the 2006 WHO standards and risk factors were determined using logistic regression. Statistical significance was set at p less than 0.05.Results: Among the 1,179 participants recruited for each group, the prevalence of stunting in the IDP settlements and host communities was 33.4% and 20.5% respectively. Risk factors for stunting were common to both groups and included mother’s age below 25years and low birth weight (Adj OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.07 – 1.92) and (Adj OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.01 – 2.05) for IDPs and (Adj OR 1.74; 95% CI 1.19 – 2.54) and (Adj OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.35 – 3.51) for host communities.Conclusion: Maternal age and birth weight were the specific determinants of stunting in both groups. Therefore, strategies and measures to mitigate should focus on empowering young women through providing nutrition and health education, ensuring robust maternal pre-natal care to reduce low birth weight incidence, supplying nutritional supplementation for pregnant women, and supporting early infant feeding and childcare practices.